Greetings from the glorious Jinotega for the second to last time!

One of today’s activities consisted of hiking to Pena De La Cruz, which is a giant mountain that many people hike up to, to reach the giant cross located at the very top. Team Jinotega began the journey to Pena De La Cruz at 12:00 and lucky for us, there was a cool breeze that was perfect for hiking. It took the group about an hour to hike up to the cross because it was extremely tiring, my calves are still in pain. There were exactly 981 steps that began at the bottom of the  mountain and all 21 of us, Nancy, Steven, Belkis, and Susan unfortunately were unable to join the rest of us, successfully reached the top of Pena De La Cruz.  Although the hike was tough for the majority of the group, it was entirely worth it because the view was breath taking.

After a delicious dinner at Coffee Bar Don Café, I led the group to a surprise dance party at Buffet La Familiar. We experienced some technical difficulties, but it was no problem for us because a local radio station held a party at the park across the street and was blasting dance music the entire night. Everyone, especially the GG program coordinators, got their groove on and savored what was the last night we’d all be together. One of the more popular dances of the night was the “don’t touch the dog” move that the group was getting down to. Belkis and Javier, a Global Glimpse manager who was initially with team Jinotega for a couple of days, created the “don’t touch the dog” rap as a reminder of one of the rules to follow while walking around the city, the glimpsers just added a little personal flare to the concept. Dancing was a great way for the group to celebrate  the time that we had together on this amazing trip and create one of the last special memories of this incredible experience.

Unfortunately I was not able to see the final product of the CAP because I was ill, but seeing Juan Carlos’ face light up when our delegation surprised him with school supplies made up for it. We had about $100 left over from our CAP and decided that it would be most efficient to donate a box full of school supplies to Ninos y Jovenes de Caracter al Rescate. Juan Carlos was eternally grateful for the support our delegation gave his organization and wanted something extra to remember us by. Juan Carlos asked each member of our delegation to sign the shirt he was wearing, which was one of the shirts we donated to his organization. Juan Carlos spoke a few words to the group to express his gratitude and hoped that Global Glimpse and Ninos y Jovenes de Caracter al Rescate would find themselves together in Nicaragua in the near future, which is something that I hope for as well.